1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to finials, and particularly to decorative fence-post finials and a method of making and assembling these finials.
2. Description of the Related Art
PVC fencing has achieved a measure of popularity against more traditional fencing materials due to its high-gloss appearance, low maintenance, durability, and its lower expense. Typical PVC fencing posts are hollow and open-ended. Therefore, these posts require some protective covering to prevent the open-ended post from being exposed and filling with rain, debris, etc. Should a hollow fence post receive rainwater that later freezes, the fence post may suffer damage from internal pressure as the water freezes and expands.
Simple form plastic fence post tops that serve the single, utilitarian purpose of protecting the PVC fence posts lack the decorative enhancements that are often seen in wood and wrought iron fencing. This restricts the plastic fences from competing against other styles of fencing materials.
The industry has attempted to compensate for the lack of variation by injection molding fence post finials. One-piece molded finials do not, however, allow for ornate finials because the molds are too restrictive in design. Also, the nature of this manufacturing-process restricts the development of more ornate and decorative designs. Molding solid finials in larger sizes, would be impractical to produce. Partially solid finials could be produced but with greatly added material cost, unsatisfactory shrinking as the material cools, and extreme top heaviness. Fully hollow finials are the preferred option. Producing full-hollow finials as one piece, requires a collapsible internal core. This collapsible core, however, would be more expensive to construct and require greater maintenance over standard molds. Further, even with a collapsing core, the decorative design would be limited. The core can only collapse within itself to a certain point. The decorative designs are thus limited to only modest finial designs. Thus, a one-piece finial cannot nearly embody all of the decorative elements that a two-piece can.
Design parameters can be broadened tremendously by molding the fence post tops in two halves (right and left halves). With two halves, the interior can be hollowed out with the only limit being what wall thickness is to remain. With PVC, this wall thickness may be reduced to as little as 0.90 of an inch. The two-half system minimizes the part weight, speeds up cooling and curing time, and allows nesting for packaging; all of which reduce costs. This however, complicates the tooling and raises the costs far above what this limited marketplace can economically justify. The tooling requirement is doubled, by using a right-half and a left-half mold similar to the concept of a distinct xe2x80x9cmalexe2x80x9d mold and a distinct xe2x80x9cfemalexe2x80x9d mold for each half of the finial.
Furthermore, the two halves must be combined to make a single cohesive finial. Common practice is to use metal fasteners or glue to assemble plastic parts. Both of these methods detract from the high gloss, smooth, and unblemished appearance desired in the finished finial. The metal fasteners are not acceptable due to their effect on the appearance of the finished parts. The fasteners either show or must be covered/painted. Fasteners also add to the cost and assembly time required for each finial. Gluing adds even more to the cost and assembly time required for each assembly. Besides the cost of the glue and labor involved, two other issues must be considered. One is the EPA hazards and concerns regarding the fumes from the glue. The other is the frequency of dripping on or fingerprinting the halves during the gluing and assembly process, resulting in considerable scrap expense. Blotches, smudges, or glue tracks are not compatible with the cosmetic appearance desired.
The present invention solves the problems with the previously described convention in the art. In particular, it addresses the problems with providing decorative molded PVC covers/finials that are capable of many diverse looks and that are easy to assemble without resulting in unsightly blemishes. The invention comprises a cover configured for covering an upper end of a post. The cover comprises a collar, for placement upon the upper end of a post, and a protrusion capable of receiving an additional decorative element(s). The additional decorative elements may comprise additional covers or finials. The cover itself may comprise a decorative finial.
The cover may also comprise a lip capable of receiving further decorative elements such as a decorative skirt. The skirt surrounds the lip and comprises two unisex halves that are capable of being joined to each other around the collar.
The covers further comprise two substantially similar, unisex halves wherein the interiors of said unisex halves are capable of affixation to each other. The interiors of the unisex halves further comprise the horizontal displacement on each half of at least one peg and one receptor. Additional peg-receptor pairs may be displaced in vertical, but not necessarily symmetrical, alignment with other peg-receptor pairs along the interior surface of the unisex half. One may combine the unisex halves by engaging the complementary peg-receptor pairs of each unisex half with the other. This combination results in a tight engagement between said complementary pegs and receptors along at least a portion of the engaged pegs and receptors. To combat expansion and shrinkage factors due to multiple conditions (including the weather) once the unisex halves are engaged, the peg-receptor pairs comprise hollow interiors.
Another embodiment of the invention comprises an escape passage for air trapped by the engagement of the peg and its complementary receptor. This may be achieved in a number of ways including displacing a groove along a portion of the interior, hollow surface of the receptor or along the exterior surface of the peg.
All of the decorative elements described above (cover, finials, skirts, etc.) may be injection molded from a variety of materials including polyvinyl chloride.
These and further objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment.